Meteorite Crashes Through New Zealand Roof

freitasm writes "The New Zealand Herald and Stuff are reporting on a 1.3kg, four billion-year-old rock that fell through the roof of a house in suburban Auckland, New Zealand. Their insurance company will pay for the hole in the roof and couch and two holes in the ceiling. The meteorite itself, a chunk of an asteroid, could have been basketball-sized when it impacted Earth's atmosphere at 15km a second. By the time it hit the house, its velocity had probably slowed to 100-200m a second."

Comments

rawr

[Anonymous Coward]

Now thats what I call a smashing entry!

Re:rawr

[daveashcroft]

Finally we know what happened to beagle.....

Re:rawr

[Anonymous Coward]

This story just rocks...

Re:rawr

[mattyrobinson69]

no wonder you posted AC - rocks indeed! humf!

Why was this posted?

[dotslashconfig]

Oh, that's right... this is the biggest news in New Zealand since the Lord of the Rings crew packed up and left.

Re:Why was this posted?

[azzy]

New Zealand beat England in rugby, and got two early wickets against England in the cricket (though don't look like winning). There's some more NZ news for you.

Re:Why was this posted?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, now your second change bowlers are on, Thorpe and Butcher look like scoring a few. The England of the past would have contrived to lose this but maybe not now...

(Laughs at the number of merkins who haven't got a clue what this is about. And yes, cricket is a game for geeks...)

Re:Why was this posted?

[Anonymous Coward]

B*ll*cks, I've taken a wicket.

Re:Why was this posted?

[Ilgaz]

What about the cloned sheep? Dolly? :)

Re:Why was this posted?

[operagost]

It's big news because the insurance company actually paid for the damage!

Re:Why was this posted?

[dinther]

My dear friend, Lord of the Rings crew, did not pack up and leave. Contrary to popular believe, the Lord of the Rings Crew are mostly New Zealanders that are still here working on the next block buster.

Re:Why was this posted?

[Anonymous Coward]

you really are a twat....

Re:Why was this posted?

[NateTech]

Scintillating.

Re:Why was this posted?

[daveashcroft]

that was in SCOTLAND you insensitive clod! You cant be much further away geographically im afraid.

Re:Why was this posted?

[Ilgaz]

NZ guys must be joke understanding unlike you. I joked about the sheep population in NZ :)

Um, ouch.

[Talonius]

I bet their insurance company cancels them after they pay for all the repairs, too. :) It was preventable, if New Zealand had invested more heavily in SWMDT (Star Wars Meterorite Defense Technology). Of course with the license fees the Reagan administration was charging...

That would truly suck. To be sitting there watching "When Meteorites Attack, True Stories of Meteorites and Their Victims" and WHAM, there's a smoking hole in your television set, sparks flying everywhere, and the father figure of the family is screaming for his teenage son, wondering if he had been busy building nuclear reactors again.

Re:Um, ouch.

[Ixany]

Gosh no. Just think about the probability of this happening twice to that same house. Although statistically, it isn't any smaller than the probability of a meteorite hitting it the first time, one mustn't spoil the obligatory Garp reference:

"Honey, the chances of another plane hitting this house are astronomical. See? It's been pre-disastered. We're going to be safe here."

Great stuff, that.

Re:Um, ouch.

[alex_ware]

It would be better if they didn't claim, they could sell the meterite for more than the damage. But the insurance premium would go up.

Re:Um, ouch.

[nyseal]

Insurance companies don't give a shit about statistics unless they're in their favor....the whole point of the business I guess. If they have to dish out to you even once, WHAM, there go your premiums because they weren't expecting to pay out in the first place. Sheesh, what a scam. You pay more because of other people and also pay more after a claim. What a bunch of assholes.

Re:Um, ouch.

[xsupergr0verx]

Someone slacked off of the "Missile Command" budget and one little city of 5 got destroyed.

Re:Um, ouch.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh man, the CIV addiction is beginning to rear it's head again.

Re:Um, ouch.

[calethix]

You're forgetting part of the scam. If you happen to be high risk (i.e. live in an area with a higher crime rate) then you pay higher premiums to start with. Then after you get robbed and make a claim, your premiums go up still. Wasn't that the point of a higher premium in the first place.. because they expected you to be robbed and file a claim?

Re:Um, ouch.

[Abreu]

That would truly suck. To be sitting there watching "When Meteorites Attack, True Stories of Meteorites and Their Victims" and WHAM, there's a smoking hole in your television set, sparks flying everywhere, and the father figure of the family is screaming for his teenage son, wondering if he had been busy building nuclear reactors again.

And then a cheerleader is abducted, and Nurse Edna chases their rescuers and scares them silly...

Re:Um, ouch.

[Captain_Chaos]

Just think about the probability of this happening twice to that same house. Although statistically, it isn't any smaller than the probability of a meteorite hitting it the first time,...

The chance of a meteorite hitting the same house twice is much smaller than one hitting the house once. What you mean is that the chance of a meteorite hitting the house again is the same as the first time...

A Natural Disaster?

[awacs]

Or another Open Source project gone wrong?

Re:A Natural Disaster?

[Richard_L_James]

Looks like Beagle2 has been rediscovered ;)

why claim the insurance?

[drg55]

Meteorites are quite pricey, just put it on ebay.
Put the house on ebay too.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

Usually you don't own meteorites which go down on your propery.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

It must be one of the safest houses in the world - what are the odds of it being hit by two meteorites?

Re:why claim the insurance?

[MoonBuggy]

Why not? Nobody else owns it, so if it lands in your house surely you keep it.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[MerlTurkin]

In the U.S. if it lands on YOUR land it's yours. Laws differ from Country to country however. I saw a price quoted in one report of over $6,000 for that meteorite, they can (and probably will) get MUCH, MUCH more than that. "Merl"

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

just like with archaeological discoveries: you don't own the thing you find in many countries of the world. you might have a claim for a finder's reward though.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Trurl's Machine]

In Post-Soviet Russia, the Country owns your meteorite as a "national property of the government". You can get arrested if you try to sell it, especially to a foreign buyer.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

That's because they wanna get the cabbage selling it on eBay. Same ol' same ol'.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[nEoN nOoDlE]

As another reader pointed out, the odds of it being hit by a second meteorite, is exactly the same is it being hit by the first... which is slim, but another meteor isn't going to avoid the house next time because a meteor crashed there beforehand.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[XorNand]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't your statement only true if looking at each meteorite independantly? For example, if there was a 1% chance of Meteorite A hitting, there is also a 1% of Meteorite B hitting. However, the odds of both hitting are significantly less: 0.01^2 = 0.01%.

(Philosopher, not a statistican; could be wrong.)

Re:why claim the insurance?

[sonicattack]

Reminds me of the story about the statistician who calculated the odds of there being a bomb on the airplane he was travelling on, and found out that the odds were too high for him to feel safe. He then calculated the odds of there being two, independent bombs on the same plane, and noticed that the possibility was remote to the extreme, compared to the first calculation.

So, now, he always brings a bomb with him when he's flying.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

The probablily of the first rock hitting that house is not .01, though, it is 1, as it has already happened.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Esion Modnar]

In Post-Soviet Russia...

Just shows how I've been conditioned to start groaning whenever I see these words (or similar) begin a comment. Allright, I give up, so here goes: (ahem)

In Post-Soviet Russia, meteorites own YOU! (Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week, try the veal.)

Re:why claim the insurance?

[rollingcalf]

The probability of both hitting, given that A already hit, is just the probablity that B will hit.

Other posters were implicitly referring to the fact that the first one already hit, while your statement is referring to a time when none has hit yet.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

The odds of any house being hit by two meteorites are a lot smaller than those of a house being hit by only a single meteorite. However, that only works if you don't know whether the house has already been hit for a first time. In this case, we do know the house has already been hit once; the odds of it being hit again are the same as for a house which has never been hit. Statistics can be quite counter-intuitive.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[XorNand]

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the enlightenment.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[sonicattack]

You're right.

Rolling a dice and getting the number six doesn't reduce the possibility of hitting another six the next throw. But the odds of getting two sixes (or any other particular number) in a row is 1 out of 36.

Reminds me of a discussion I had once about random patterns of ones and zeroes - I ended up writing a short simulation to demonstrate this.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[goon america]

I recall a story (I don't know if it was actually true or not) about some old, poor women whose car was hit and fatally damaged by a meteorite. She thought she was ruined... of course, in a short manner of time someone wanted to pay a $impressive_sum_of_money for it, and, uh, she lived happily ever after or something like that.

That couch is quite an artifact, and he could probably get not a small amount for it.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[quantaman]

As another reader pointed out, the odds of it being hit by a second meteorite, is exactly the same is it being hit by the first... which is slim, but another meteor isn't going to avoid the house next time because a meteor crashed there beforehand.

As another reader pointed out, the odds of you getting the first joke, is exactly the same as you being hit by a meteor... which is slim, but this joke isn't going to avoid you next time because you ruined the first joke before hand.

(seriously I would hope that the /. crowd doesn't need the Gambler's fallacy explained to it :)

Re:why claim the insurance?

[nEoN nOoDlE]

Why not claim the insurance? They're paying for it, so let them pay something back. And then sell the meteor on EBay.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

In Soviet Russia meteorite owns you!

Re:why claim the insurance?

[mattyrobinson69]

you mean if you sell it to a fellow countryman youll only get arrested 'a little bit'

Re:why claim the insurance?

[cheese_wallet]

"But the odds of getting two sixes (or any other particular number) in a row is 1 out of 36."

However, having already rolled one 6, assuming the events are truly independent, the odds of rolling another 6 are just 1 out of 6.

The 1 out of 36 applies only if you haven't rolled a 6 yet.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, since one meteor has already hit the house, that's one less piece of space debris that's likely to hit earth in the future. Therefore, there are less out there that may be in this neck of space, and it's less likely to be re-hit.

If the house was there for an infinite time, the odds would be closer to the same, but something tells me that there is only a small chance of that house being there again in 1000 years when meteor #2 comes this way.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Trigulus]

Your sig is a quote from the classic Moby Dick you idiot. Yes the lines were spoken in a Star Trek movie but that does not give you the right to mis-credit the quote. If you read Moby Dick you will enjoy all things Star Trek even more as there are many references and theme parallels.

</SelfMod OffTopic=-1>

Re:why claim the insurance?

[sonicattack]

I'm pretty sure we're saying the same thing here.

1 out of 36 is the odds of getting two sixes in a row. The important thing is that this applies regardless of if you've just rolled another two sixes in a row beforehand, or never have held a dice before in your life.

Now, if you throw 10 sixes in a row, the odds actually goes up that the next roll will be another six. This is, of course, due to the increased possibility of the dice being modified. :^)

Re:why claim the insurance?

[the grace of R'hllor]

It's like roulette. The odds stay the same for each individual roll, regardless of what came before. So just because the house hasn't been hit before, doesn't mean its chances of being hit again decrease in any way.

Of course, if you look at roulette, you'll see that Red and Black are mostly at about a 50% distribution. So after six reds, a black might seem more likely. It's an utterly stupid way to spend your money, but perfectly sound intuitism. Especially at a French Roulette table, where they don't have a $50 minimum on side-bets. :-)

Re:why claim the insurance?

[NarrMaster]

Its like the story about the guy who carries a bomb on every plane he flies, his reasoning being, "Heh, whats the probability that there are 2 bombs on board?"

Re:why claim the insurance?

[underworld]

The same as being hit by one meteorite now. For example:

What are the odds of getting heads or tails? Well, 1/2. What are the odds of getting two heads? Well, 1/4. But...

It works like this:

First heads odds: 1/2
Second heads odds: 1/2

In other words, the two odds are multiplied out to find the odds of getting two heads (i.e. 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/4). However, once the first heads is achieved, the odds of the second heads is still 1/2 - thus making the odds of the pair now 1/2.

The funny thing is that the odds change as each opportunity is explored. For example, what are the odds of throwing 5 heads? Well, 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/32.

Now, let's examine how this works. Before the first toss, the odds are still 1/32.

After the first toss, the odds become 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 or 1/16, since we the first heads is already established. Following this through:

Toss 1: 1/32
Toss 2: 1/16
Toss 3: 1/8
Toss 4: 1/4
Toss 5: 1/2

So, as you can see, your odds actually improve with each successful toss. However, you can never improve on the 1/2 odds for each individual toss.

An interesting side note as well - since each toss counts equally with a coin, then it bears to reason that you are more likely to get 5 heads in a row, than to get heads, tails, heads, tails, heads, tails. Which sounds strange because the heads/tails is more "complex". But much like pouring liquids from a short wide container to a tall narrow one, this is only an illusion.

Now, back to our meteorite. The probability is the same as being hit by a single meteorite with one exception: if the first meteorite somehow biases the spot so that it is more or less likely than the standard, then the odds are different.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week, try the veal."

If that was a Shrek quote, it's hotel de ville

Doh.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Tablizer]

The probability of both hitting, given that A already hit, is just the probablity that B will hit.

But you are assuming they are inanimate.....

Re:why claim the insurance?

[sander]

Huh? getting any sequence of length 5 is equally likely. 5 head / 5 tails / 4 heads + 1 tail ... are all equally likely. What makes you think otherwise?

Re:why claim the insurance?

[budgenator]

while the odds are the same for the next hit as for the previous; it's rather miss leading to say it that way. If the odds are 1/10^9 of getting your house struck within a century, the odds would be 1/10^18 for it to be struck twice in the same period.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

As another reader pointed out, the odds of it being hit by a second meteorite, is exactly the same is it being hit by the first

All wrong! The odds of being hit by a second meteor are slightly less than the odds of being hit by the first. Remember, there's one less rock out there now...

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

(seriously I would hope that the /. crowd doesn't need the Gambler's fallacy explained to it :)


That's a very verbose explanation, and I don't understand it. There is this thing about representative heuristic, blah, blah, but I don't get it.

What is this stuff about prior information? 5 heads in a row isn't any MORE likely than any GIVEN specific sequence of 5 tosses.

It would seem to me that the Gambler's fallacy can be explained by the "moron or dumbass heuristic".

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

"The probability of both hitting, given that A already hit, is just the probablity that B will hit."

Times the probability that two meteorite orbits intersect the earth orbit on the same location on earth.

Your statement is only true if meteorite hits are absolutely uncorrelated, however gravity and meteorite distribution make that being not the case.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

But if meteorite strikes are uncorrelated, then the odds of a meteorite hitting in the 10 year period starting right after the first impact will be the same for any house, including the one that was recently hit.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why didn't he bring two?

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

How about this given sequence: not all heads or all tails.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

four heads and 1 tail are much more likely, since there are five ways of making it.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

Unless of course it wasn't really from an asteroid but instead some aliens were practicing their aim.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[snyps]

I do not believe that there were two of them, it said two holes, but with that speed it probably just went through the roof, the celing under the roof, then into the lower level or basement making another hole in the celing.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

He's saying HHHHT, in that specific sequence, is equally as likely as any other combination. Forget about the total number of heads and tails.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

In New Zealand, if the Maori claim that meteorites have some kind of spiritual significance - they own it.

Re:why claim the insurance?

[shachart]

Yeah, same as the statistician who drowned in a pool whose average depth was 8"...

Could be a good thing?

[Chris_Jefferson]

Now at first, you'd think having a meteorite crashing through your roof was bad.

On the other hand, does this mean that these people now own the meteorite? and if so, does anyone have any idea how valuable it might be? Just courious :)

Re:Could be a good thing?

[Tranzig]

The estimated value is over 10000 NZD, that's about 6000 USD or 5000 EUR. It's in the article.

Re:Could be a good thing?

[MrRTFM]

Yes, you could make a fortune renting out your house to visiting dignitaries as a 'highly secure meteor resistant location' (based on the lightning never strikes twice principle).

Of course, they'd need to fix the holes in the roof and get the carpet shampooed first.

Re:Could be a good thing?

[itp]

Didn't read the article, huh? ;-)

Re:Could be a good thing?

[keraneuology]

In 1954 Ann Hodges was asleep on her couch when a meteorite came through the roof and hit her, leaving a nasty bruise. The landlady of the house won ownership in court. (Sylacauga, Alabama)

Re:Could be a good thing?

[Tjebbe]

Money? Can you imagine what kind of superpowers they must have got from the meteorite?

Re:Could be a good thing?

[Zeddicus_Z]

TV news tonight said they could expect around $10,000 (Australian - I'm in .au) if they wanted to sell it.

As an aside, apparently the lady of the house and her child only left the room in question a few minutes before the event.

Re:Could be a good thing?

[ramdac]

Haha, no joke.

I would sure enjoy super powers.

Re:Could be a good thing?

[cammoblammo]

I loved the comment made by the lady to the reporter. "Gee, if someone had been sleeping on the couch, it would've crowned 'em."

Nzers are truly the masters (and mistresses) of the understatement.

Re:Could be a good thing?

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

More like de-crowned them. :o

Re:Could be a good thing?

[shplorb]

Seeing as NZ is a Commonwealth country, I'd guess that they have the same rules with regards to meteorites as we do over here in aussie - which is that it's Crown property (you know, the Queen).

Re:Could be a good thing?

[Punchinello]

According to this CNN Article they could sell the rock for around $6,000US.

Of course, if they sell it on eBay and it gets reported on /. the price could go much higher.

Re:Could be a good thing?

[Anonymous Coward]

So she sued the landlady b/c she (Ann) was assaulted by the landlady's meteorite?

Re:Could be a good thing?

[yuri benjamin]

If the landlady owns the rock, then the tenant was struck by a rock belonging to her landlady. She should have got some compensation from the landlady.

Re:Could be a good thing?

[ross axe]

That struck me as well (no pun intended), but I wonder how fast it was going after it had been through the roof+ceiling. The question is, did the meteorite bouce off the sofa or the floor (destroying the sofa on the way through).

As any keen Beano reader knows, it is of course possible to survive a meteor strike with no more ill effects than having yourself reduced to 6" in height, but with a 4' tall lump on your head. Oh, and all meteorites bear the notice 'If lost, kindly return to the Milky Way'.

Why can't...

[kunudo]

...something like that happen to my house (while I'm at work, please)? I want a meteorite. Would be so cool to have.

Re:Why can't...

[eyeye]

Yes it would really rock.

Re:Why can't...

[MerlTurkin]

You can BUY meteorites. Get yourself a nice Canyon Diablo (Iron meteorite), they go from about .30 cents to .50 a gram. Or an unclassified NWA (stone meteorite), they are cheap as well. I have about 50 specimens so far myself. "Merl"

Re:Why can't...

[Lurker McLurker]

Where is the -1 pun mod?

Hrmm

[acehole]

Maybe they should check the 'meteorite' for peanuts...

Re:Hrmm

[Anonymous Coward]

best line from the movie....

"I got the poo on me!!"

Re:Hrmm

[Anonymous Coward]

...or corn.

I'm pretty surprised by the loss in speed.

[James A. S. Joyce]

I know that the Earth's atmosphere is approximately 100 kilometres in thickness, but the idea of an object dissipating so much kinetic energy as heat is still amazing. Nonetheless, at that speed it's going at about the same speed as a bullet from a gun so I guess it's a good thing no one was there. Luckily, though, since kinetic energy is proportional to the square of velocity, it's a good thing it lost all but literally 0.2% of its speed.

Re:I'm pretty surprised by the loss in speed.

[mog007]

It's not that amazing. A large portion of the meteorite is boiled off from the heat, so not only is the atmosphere making a cushion, but it's also removing mass, thus decreasing the KE even more.

Re:I'm pretty surprised by the loss in speed.

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, consider the loss of mass as it burns up. KE = 1/2 m v^2.

Re:I'm pretty surprised by the loss in speed.

[Anonymous Coward]

Um, decreasing KE doesn't neccessarily mean that the velocity is lowered. You can for example split a spacecraft in two parts while traveling through space, but they will still keep going in the same speed (if you split them perpendicular to the velocity vector)

Very lucky...

[Anonymous Coward]

The house owner is very lucky. The meteorite is probably worth hundreds of thousands, the insurance company will fix the house, and nobody got hurt. Wonderful...

Insurance?

[meringuoid]

Their insurance company will pay for the hole in the roof and couch and two holes in the ceiling.

What insurance policy covers meteor impacts? If there's anything in the world that might happen that could be called an Act of God, surely 'smiting with flaming rocks from the heavens' qualifies?

Re:Insurance?

[Jon Abbott]

It may depend on whether or not the "meteor" is a real meteor or just space junk... That being said, though, I couldn't imagine any insurance company that would be trained to tell the difference. :^)

Re:Insurance?

[mat catastrophe]

You would be surprised what is and is not covered under some insurance policies.

Besides, Acts of God can also sometimes be covered under insurance - after all, what's the point of wasting all that damn money on insurance if they can just turn on you and say, "Nope, that tree falling on your house last night during the freak ice storm was an Act of God" ?

So, for those too lazy to click the link above, meteors are covered the same as airplanes under home insurance, "objects falling from the sky." Now, the reason this is covered is precisely because it doesn't happen very often. Just as people on the coast pay extra for hurricane damage insurance and folks in the midwest pay extra for tornado insurance, if there were an area where meteors were common, there'd be extra clauses for meteor damage.

Insurance is, largely, a racket.

Re:Insurance?

[cd_serek]

What about the floor-board? Doesn't insurance cover that as well? Or would that be classified as "structural damage"?

Re:Insurance?

[frdmfghtr]

This is exactly the sort of thing that one has homeowner's insurance for, isn't it? Natural disasters (i.e. acts of God") would also include trees falling down on a house, damage from windstorms (flying debris), tornadoes, etc.

Re:Insurance?

[(H)elix1]

What insurance policy covers meteor impacts? If there's anything in the world that might happen that could be called an Act of God, surely 'smiting with flaming rocks from the heavens' qualifies?

I'm sure the insurance company could have... but that would have created some very bad publicity. Can you imagine the homeowners saying - we have been paying them premiums for the last ten years and the rats claimed it was an "act of god". With no fatalities, light damage, and global coverage paying was the correct corporate maneuver. That kind of favorable branding is hard to get.

Re:Insurance?

[MinotaurUK]

IANAL, but I did do a course in contract law a few years ago. As I remember from the lectures on insurance contracts, "Act of God" doesn't mean things like meteors, storm damage, etc. at all. It's usually described as "unexplained natural phenomena", at least as far as insurance contracts go on this side of the pond.

Unusual though a meteor coming through the roof is, I'm not sure it counts as "unexplained".

Re:Insurance?

[Hungus]

Funny thing is I know several people that "b" has happened to

B) A car careens around a curve and drives into your living room

ok maybe not the living room specifically in every case but at least 1 was and Robert Woodhead had a vehicle crash into his offices

Re:Insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, insurance is an inverse lottery. You pay so you do not lose money in the rare cases that you hit the low probability events.

Re:Insurance?

[cosmo7]

Insurance process:

• Meteorite hits house
• Owner of house contacts insurance company
• Insurance company sends 120-page claim form
• Owner returns claim form
• Insurance company claims Force Majeur, All Bets Are Off
• Owner complains to insurance trade body
• Insurance company asks for proof that meteorite is from outer space
• Owner engages in frank discussion with insurance company
• Insurance company grudgingly pays half of cost of damage
• Owner finds insurance premium has doubled

Re:Insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

My guess is that the insurance company will actually end up paying nothing. This is because the insurance company will require that the money from selling the rock be used towards the repair cost, and if it brings a high price it will exceed the repair cost.

Re:Insurance?

[cd_serek]

"...meteors are covered the same as airplanes under home insurance..."

Well, I have to disagree with you here. Here in Australia, there is a piece of legislation called Damage by Aircraft Act 1999 [http://scaleplus.law.gov.au]. What this statute entails is that whereby any damage caused by an aircraft, the airline will automatically be liable for the damage (no questions asked), and the the damages would be sought by the insurance company on the behalf of the insured (the person being insured). However, this piece of legislation does not extend to cover non-aircraft-parts related damages. So, where there is damage to a premise caused by meteors, if the Insurer (insurance company) choses to hide behind the insurance clause of "Act of God", then the poor unlucky house-owner can't do anything about it. And will have to pay for the damages him/herself.

Now, similarly, over in New Zealand, there was this very interesting case back around '97, where a piece of scrap metal from a commercial airliner did fall onto the roof of a suburban home just after takeoff. As a result, few roof-tiles were damaged, and the New Zealand Court of Appeal held that the airline was automatically liable for any damage caused by one of its aircrafts.

So, if in the present circumstance, a piece of meteor fell out of the sky and damaged a home, who would the insurer sue on the behalf of the insured? There is no airlines involved. God? As if! In such scenario, the insured can only pray that the insurer would "out of the kindness of their hearts" allow compensation to be awarded.

Re:Insurance?

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

This is rather common, actually. People down the street from me lived on a street with a connecting street pointing right at their living room. The connecting street had a long curve, then a hundred feet of staight, then their lawn and house. They've been porked twice! No one injured either time (in the house, anyway.)

I'd bury some steel/cement posts in front of the house behind the bushes. But then someone would prolly plow into them, be injured, then hire a trial lawyer to sue you. "You are responsible because you put this here, rather than let him plow into your house, possibly killing your children." Gotta love lawyers.

Re:Insurance?

[moosesocks]

A religious phenomenon damages your home:

Covered. Every now and then you'll hear about something unusual, such as a house where oil is pouring out of the walls for no apparent reason and the Virgin Mary appears in the oil. If that happens to you, and you make a claim for the damage done to your walls, you're covered.

Has this ever happened??? It seems to me that it would at least make the news :)

Re:Insurance?

[compwizrd]

And stick the metorite in a glass case, and put that in the lobby of their corporate office.

Re:Insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

What insurance policy covers meteor impacts? If there's anything in the world that might happen that could be called an Act of God, surely 'smiting with flaming rocks from the heavens' qualifies?

If one rock comes crashing through one house roof, the insurance company will pay out. It's virtually statistical noise with the size of portfolios they deal with. And it would cost more to fight it as an "Act of God" than just to pay out.

If two hundred rocks came crashing out of the sky and each hit a different house, then the insurance company is more likely to claim that each was an Act of God.

I believe that the "Act of God" terms in most insurance contracts are there to cover highly correlated. Insurance works on the basis that each of the events they insure each of their policyholders against happen (or don't) independently. Car accidents might be independent, for example, as if I have a crash in my car, it doesn't make it any more or less likely that you will.

The reason for this is that a large number of independent events will average out, by the law or large numbers. It is equivalent to betting a million dollars on one flip of a coin, or one dollar on each of a million flips. In the former case, you don't know at all what the outcome will be. In the latter, you can be pretty sure you'll win about half and probably break even.

So an earthquake might be covered as an "Act of God", because the single risk to the insurance company is too high. If there were an earthquake, the company would have to pay out too much, so they cannot insure against this risk. Alternatively, the insurance company may list specific exclusions, hence the introduction recently of terrorism clauses. But to avoid situations they haven't thought of, they are likely to use the "Act of God" catch-all.

Re:Insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

as long as their homeowneres policy was 'special form' everything is covered except for what is "excluded". and no insurance policy ive ever seen excluded meteorites :)

Re:Insurance?

[MicroBerto]

If the insurance company has any clue about marketing, they will realize that this is free publicity for them. This is obviously going to get on news around the world because of the freakishness/humor behind it. This is free advertising for them, or could just turn ugly if they don't pay for it.

The repairs will be way less than the PR spin that they could put on this, rather than looking like uncaring assholes in front of a world audience.

Re:Insurance?

[Sandb]

Com'on, i think any insurance company would pay to be able to cover this kind of rare damage... It is about the greatest publicity you can get, and almost for free.

I bet right now everybody knows them in New Zealand and their next ad will feature "Meteor trough the roof? No problem, just call XXXX".

Re:Insurance?

[iNetRunner]

Wonder what other insurances you'd have to pay if you had to pay extra meteor insurance? *As you would be probably living above the atmosphere.. Or on the Moon or Mars..*

Re:Insurance?

[WeblionX]

They just need to set up the netting made to stop two ton rocks from falling on the roadway.

Re:Insurance?

[targo]

Besides, Acts of God can also sometimes be covered under insurance - after all, what's the point of wasting all that damn money on insurance if they can just turn on you and say, "Nope, that tree falling on your house last night during the freak ice storm was an Act of God" ?

Well, I had a sad experience with a certain web hosting company that had advertised "a guaranteed 99% uptime". The actual agreement excluded things like "acts of God" and of course they blamed each and every outage on God.
That DoS attack? Oh, that's simply an act of God, we can't do anything about it, no you can't get your money back.
I didn't bother suing them or anything like that but simply switched providers but I wonder if there's some law that actually determines the jurisdiction of God in such matters ;-)

Re:Insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

It hardly sounds like the sort of claim that even goes up more than one level of management among the adjusters. A roof repair, a couch, some floor damage, doesn't add up to much really. At least, it's nothing insurance adjusters don't hear every day. What's interesting is the damage was caused by a meteorite. But it's not significant enough to motivate even a crappy insurer to look for reasons to not pay, particularly if the case has already been reported in the press. Although, I do not believe the article mentioned the insurance company by name. (need to re-read it, sorry)

Re:Insurance?

[windex]

So long as the argument that "that driver ran his car into my lovely steel posts!", the courts would side with the owner of the property just the same as if the car plowed into the house.

IANAL, but.. makes sense to me. :)

Re:Insurance?

[Hungus]

Unfortunately, Impy is right. If you hid the posts so that they were not an eyesore then you would probably be successfully sued. Now, if you put large posts coloured red or yellow at the edge of your property to protect it you might be able to get away with that. The legal sistem is quite silly IMNSHO.

Re:Insurance?

[arth1]

B) A car careens around a curve and drives into your living room

<languagepolice>
Actually, the sentripetal force prevents careening from happening when going around a curve. What often happens, though, is that a car careers off the curve.
</languagepolice>

Re:Insurance?

[Hungus]

B) A car careens around a curve and drives into your living room

<languagepolice>
Actually, the sentripetal force prevents careening from happening when going around a curve. What often happens, though, is that a car careers off the curve.
</languagepolice>

You might want to talk to the person who wrote the article I was quoting rather than me. I would think they are more likely to be able to change the original content. - Just a suggestion

Further, if you are going to comment on the grammatics of my post (or really of my quote) you might want to at least try and spell centripetal correctly.

In addition to that, when posting here in geekland you might also want to be aware of the issue that there really is no such beast as centripetal force, as it is in fact simply intertia and not a force by any means.

Of course these are simply suggestions for the so aptly named:

<languagepolice>

Re:Insurance?

[MerlTurkin]

The N.Y. car was the Peekskill meteorite and the Chicago one was Park Forrest. Both stone type meteorites. The Peekskill car makes the rounds at meteorite shows, I thought I heard it sold for 69,000. There is a great video out there of the Peekskill meteorite coming into the atmosphere. Fairly famous footage. "Merl"

Re:Insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

- Profit!

Re:Insurance?

[FiloEleven]

In addition to that, when posting here in geekland you might also want to be aware of the issue that there really is no such beast as centripetal force, as it is in fact simply intertia and not a force by any means.

Err...I think you're referring to centrifugal force. That's the fictitious one. Unless you know something I don't, which is quite possible, and I'd like to be made aware of it if that is the case.

Re:Insurance?

[MerlTurkin]

I have to correct myself, the Peekskill meteorite sold for about $69,000, not the car. "Merl"

Re:Insurance?

[Hungus]

Neither is a force. the classic example of swinging a water bucket on a cord is what it used to describe either. Unfortunately Slashdot doesn't allow decent ways of making even halfway accurate diagrams so I will attempt to describe it.

1) You can have A centripetal force which would be defined as a force which is applied to a mass in order for the mass to maintain circular motion. This is due to the issue that in the absence of external forces an object will maintain its current energy level eg "An object in motion tends to stay in motion" and further maintains its vectors permanently (in the absence of external forces mind you)

To cause a circular motion a force must be applied perpendicular to the velocity of the object. In the case of the illustration of the water and the cord it is the tension in the cord that provides this energy. The stronger the force, the greater acceleration in that direction and therefore the tighter the curve.

So as you can see in the case of a vehicle moving around a corner the tyres are providing a force which can be described as centripetal but it A centripetal force not centripetal force. I don't want to sound like a grammar nazi but there is a significant difference between the two statements.

2) "Centrifugal" Force is also not a force but is also the apparent "force" that is effected on an object, this time not to cause it to move in a circle but rather apparently because it is moving in a circle (or curve in general as all of these would be).

You should be able to now see that neither is a force in its own right, though it is easy to see how people would think that they were at first glace. Personally I dind't understand the concepts myself until I was re-exposed to them years ago while taking my "A-Levels" (though I am certain if I had taken GCSE or "O-Level" physics it would have been explained (rather than my poor american science education until age 12).

Rather than continue rambling i will summarize it as thus:
Neither "centripetal" nor "centrifugal" "forces" are forces. the first is often used to describe the perpendicular force applied to cause circular motion the latter used to describe the effects of motion of an object around a curve. So in closing they are both i fact fictitious but I can see why you might think otherwise.

Re:Insurance?

[Anonymous Coward]

Meteor is 4 billion years old + Act of God? These two concepts are mutally exclusive. Can't have it both ways. :-)

Re:Insurance?

[eBayDoug]

OJ finally found the killer.

That house!

[Fullmetal Edward]

It's all lies! That house was area 51! Get your tin foil hats and ten foot thick steel bunkers because aliens have fired the first shot in the intergalatic war of 2004!

Re:That house!

[AndroidCat]

A meteorite hits New Zealand, and at the same time, a 23-acre lake vanishes in Wildwood Missouri. If asked, I'll bet that officials will deny a connection, proving that there's something going on!

Re:That house!

[Tablizer]

Get your tin foil hats and ten foot thick steel bunkers because aliens have fired the first shot in the intergalatic war of 2004!

Relax. It is just the saucers ejecting their poop bags. They fossilize it to keep the smell down.

Re:That house!

[astro-g]

its not a very good gun, that was probably the firs shot of 1904

Absolutely Crowned!

[interactive_civilian]

from the NZNews article:

"I don't know what to make of it, it's unbelievable. I'm just glad no one was sitting on the couch because they just would have got absolutely crowned."

Heh...can you imagine the conversation in the emergency room?

Doctor: Whoa! What happened to you?

Patient: I got hit by a meteorite...

Doctor: Oh...sure...right...so how much have you had to drink to night?

Anyway, the article mentioned that people would be trying to buy the thing from the Archers (the family in the story). I dunno...I would be highly tempted to not sell it. It would be a great keepsake...good conversation peice...

"And this is the meteorite that fell through my rough..."

What would you do with the rock?

Re:Absolutely Crowned!

[Lurker McLurker]

According to the stuff article, the meteorite could be worth $10,000. That would be one expensive conversation piece. I'd sell it if I had an offer like that, without hesitation.

Re:Absolutely Crowned!

[brassman]

Heh...can you imagine the conversation in the emergency room?

Yeah, but I don't think it would go the way you had it.

Doctor: Ewww! What happened to, uh, him?

Constable: He got hit by a meteorite...

Doctor: *choke* Good Lord!

Re:Absolutely Crowned!

[Vexar]

For what it is worth, my grandfather was hit in the head by a meteorite once (and only once) during dinner. It was the size of a grain of rice, according to my Dad, and made a pinhole in the roof and ceiling. Hmm; both my grandparents are dead, I wonder whether that was kept or tossed.

Re:Absolutely Crowned!

[rpj1288]

Wait.. Archer, as in Johnathan Archer? Maybe this is what made is his father want to build an engine.

Re:Absolutely Crowned!

[Cyno01]

Really? I've only ever heard that one person has been hit by a meteorite. Some woman was beaned in the leg while sleeping.

Re:Absolutely Crowned!

[zakezuke]

According to the stuff article, the meteorite could be worth $10,000. That would be one expensive conversation piece. I'd sell it if I had an offer like that, without hesitation.

Really? If you're talking USD then we are not talking *alot* of bread. $10,000 could get you a very nice used car, or a very moddest new one. It may cover morgage payments for a year perhaps two. You could get a decent 60 inch TV with DVI inputs as well as some pretty spiffy home theater accessorires and a laptop. Or you can keep this chunk of rock that is not of this earth.

Now, if the IRS came in and wanted me to pay a few grand in taxes for this rock, then I would sell it without hesitation.

Re:Absolutely Crowned!

[Anonymous Coward]

if the IRS decides to tax people whos property is struck by space debris, they can suck my cock before they will see penny #1.

Re:Absolutely Crowned!

[Anonymous Coward]

I think someone was pulling your leg.

A meteor the size of a grain of sand would be slowed by the atmosphere to its terminal velocity, which is no way fast enough to hole a roof.

Re:Absolutely Crowned!

[Vexar]

Yes, really. It is quite the story, perhaps if this weren't a public forum, I would share the details. My father, but a boy at the time, was likely inspired by this event, as he got himself a PhD in physics, and has been interested in rocketry and astronomy as long as he can remember.

Blessing in disguise

[Anonymous Coward]

that metorite would fetch alot of money for the house owner

Re:Blessing in disguise

[virtualone]

i read that the meteorite is only worth 5000 euro..
see the text in german i think this is rather poor.

Knowing my luck....

[jwcorder]

it probably happened during the season finale of American Idol. Right about the time Seacrest said...and the winner of American Idol is....damn...

Joe Dirt

[jpnews]

I just keep thinking of Joe Dirt's "shit-sickle."

"That's right, you're Joe Meteorite, and I'm Joe Dirt!"

The house owner is not selling ...

[Mr Very Angry]

The house owner said that she didn't think anyone would want to buy the rock and wanted it to stay in New Zealand / Auckland anyway. I don't think she knows how much she could get for it.

"What we've got here is..."

[Elroy Jetson]

"What we've got here is what we call a "Boeing Bomb". See the peanut? Dead giveaway."

"Nuh-uh... thats a 'Space Peanut.'"

Re:"What we've got here is..."

[zoid.com]

No, what we have here is a cut and paste job from Fark?

In a most-likely unrelated story,

[Vengeance]

Anomalous plant growth has been noted in the vicinity of the meteorite strike, with nearly complete coverage of the immediate vicinity with lush, dense foliage. The homeowners could not be reached for comment.

Re:In a most-likely unrelated story,

[Anonymous Coward]

People are growing green beards and saying ' Meteor She- it"

Re:In a most-likely unrelated story,

[Anonymous Coward]

Early reports from the area warned of "iPod People".

Re:In a most-likely unrelated story,

[Richard_L_James]

Hmmmm.... Let me get this right:

• 1) Meteorites
• 2) Anomalous plant growth

Hhhmmmmm....

• 3) Pro... $%$! NO!... Be afraid be VERY afraid

Re:In a most-likely unrelated story,

[RPoet]

Cue an endless stream of "i, for one, welcome ..." jokes in three ... two ... one ...

Re:In a most-likely unrelated story,

[youknowmewell]

Actually, plantlife and weird green crystals started sprouting and giving off toxic fumes. Dr. Mobius says that the crystals are called "Tiberian." They look valuable, could be a good energy source.

Re:In a most-likely unrelated story,

[superflippy]

I wouldn't worry, unless the plants start turning gray and dying.

4 Billion yo?

[wynterx]

OK, the two articles contradict a bit in this area, but if the experts don't yet know where it is from (as the NZ news article says), how do they know how old it is?

I'm far from expert in this area, but if they haven't yet done the work to figure out exactly (or even roughly) where it is from, surely they couldn't have done the work to figure out its age... Or are some assumptions being made here?

...OK, I'll 'fess up, just to make this look less like the flamebait that it is...

I am a young earth-creationist and my conspiracy theory says that assumptions are definitely being made. The Stuff article says it is an asteroid-derived meteorite... Asteroids are said to have formed c. 4bya therefore metorite is 4 billion years old. No tests required.

Re:4 Billion yo?

[Vengeance]

Yes, I'd say it's accurate that an assumption is being made here. If prevailing theory states that asteroids are of an age, then a meteorite derived from such an asteroid would be of a similar age.

Of course, from my point of view that's a danged safe assumption. To me the young-earth ideas are pretty far-fetched, akin to a flat-earth, or an earth built as a platform atop the back of a turtle, or an elephant... Or for that matter, an earth which is situated as a sort of battle-ground between two diametrically-opposed spiritual planes called heaven and hell.

Re:4 Billion yo?

[acceber]

how do they know how old it is?
Radiometric dating or carbon dating I suppose, by establishing radioactive decay and the determination of age ratios between different isotopes of the meteorite.

From the article: the rock could be worth more than $10,000 - coming through the roof added significantly to its value.
How does the meteorite coming through the roof of a suburban home add to its value?

Re:4 Billion yo?

[MerlTurkin]

http://www.fipnet.gymfag.dk/meteorit-US/opgaver/op g-01.htm "While a meteorite is in space, cosmic radiation gives rise to the formation of 14C. A situation rapidly arises where the amount of 14C produced is balanced by the amount of 14C lost by radioactive decay. After this point has been reached the amount of 14C is constant."

Re:4 Billion yo?

[Anonymous Coward]

Just curious here, how do you know how much Carbon 14 was around at the time and place this object was created? Since the half life of Carbon 14 is approximately 5700 years, I'm supposing they'd use something else, after all 700 half-lifes leaves less than 10^-200 of the original amount, or 1/10^198 percent :). But the same question is still valid, how much of radioactive substance X existed in the place/time that thing was created.

Re:4 Billion yo?

[MerlTurkin]

It's a VERY RARE event. Pieces of the roof/ceiling will probably be sold as well beieve it or not. Some specimens of the Park Forrest meteorite come with pieces of the house it hit depending on who you get it from. "Merl"

Re:4 Billion yo?

[Lurker McLurker]

Radiometric dating or carbon dating I suppose

Not Carbon dating, that only works for organisms that were once alive. Radiometric dating would be a better method

How does the meteorite coming through the roof of a suburban home add to its value?

It happens very rarely

Re:4 Billion yo?

[Lurker McLurker]

how do they know how old it is?

They asked the bugs who launched it. Bring on the Starship Troopers!

Re:4 Billion yo?

[ianr44]

You use Isochron Dating, which is generally a better way to date rocks anyhow as it measures the decay of multiple isotopes rather than just one.

Re:4 Billion yo?

[cammoblammo]

How does the meteorite coming through the roof of a suburban home add to its value?

It doesn't. This is a good example of the difference between value and cost. It still isn't very valuable (unless it turns out to have a gold core or somethng) but it may cost a bit to buy.

Ultimately, it's worth whatever a collector will pay for it.

Re:4 Billion yo?

[MaynardJanKeymeulen]

IANAP, but radiometric meting wouldn't work either, because those things only work for stuff found on earth.
The ammount per total mass of isotopes in a specimen is compared to the ammount per total mass of other object on earth of which we know the age for sure. So, for a meteorite, it wouldn't work, I guess.

Re:4 Billion yo?

[nomadic]

How does the meteorite coming through the roof of a suburban home add to its value?

Instant skylight.

Re:4 Billion yo?

[stef49]

There are even more reasons for not using Carbon dating:

(1) Carbon dating only works if you know the initial proportion of C13/C14 at the time of 'death' (or creation). The current assumption is that this proportion is quite constant on Earth. However, this proportion is likely to be very different in space (and on other planets of course) so you cannot date anything from out of space with Carbon dating even if it organic.

(2) Carbon decays quite rapidely so it cannot ve used to date millions of years and even less billions.

Re:4 Billion yo?

[KnightStalker]

Using that method, they would only be able to tell how long the meteorite had been on earth, not when it was formed.

Re:4 Billion yo?

[snake_dad]

I'm not too sure that it is a danged safe assumption. A young-earth fantasy is not needed to get younger rocks. It seems to be quite possible that this could be one of those ejected-from-Mars meteorites, in which case it could well be younger volcanic rock. I'll admit that I have no idea what percentage of meteorites found on Earth have originated on Mars, though.

Re:4 Billion yo?

[Anonymous Coward]

I am a young earth-creationist and my conspiracy theory says that assumptions are definitely being made. The Stuff article says it is an asteroid-derived meteorite... Asteroids are said to have formed c. 4bya therefore metorite is 4 billion years old. No tests required.

I concur. Such guestimation is often spouted as fact, when there is no evidence. Educated estimates are still only that, estimates. Even the probabilities used in such arguments are at best a guess.

paperweight (N/T)

[Anonymous Coward]

paperweight

Re:This seemed interesting as well

[thebes]

who couldn't post a link correctly? Check your links before you post sparky.

Money money money

[Paul Townend]

Hmmm....should the insurance company really have to pay, considering the net result of the impact is that the householders will probably be able to sell it for at least $10,000? Admittedly, I have no idea how much the repairs cost, but.... well... it just seems a bit odd to pay out for an event that will actually monetarily improve the policy-holder....

Re:Money money money

[jwcorder]

Hey, Townshend....put down the guitar for sec. Ok, the insurance policy isn't going to say crap about whether the home owner is going to profit from damages. It only cares about the damage from the house. If you were to get shot with a silver bullet, your life insurance policy is gonna pay out, even if you can sell the silver for a small profit.

I just don't see how you think it's a bit odd that the insurance company pay on a policy covering damage to the home, when the home was indeed damaged. That makes perfect sense to me.

Re:Money money money

[Peyna]

I'm surprised the insurance paid at all, since usually "Acts of God" are not usually covered by homeowner's insurance by default.

Re:Money money money

[Anonymous Coward]

This was not an 'act of god'. An act of god is when an unexplained/freak phenomenon occurs. Meteors fall on Earth all the time, and, along with aircraft parts, or whatever, falling on your house, are probably covered by your insurance company, unless it's a really really shitty company, or extremely cheap insurance. It's a standard item on homeowner insurance.

Re:Money money money

[Peyna]

Floods, hurricanes, torandos, etc. are all considered 'an act of God,' by insurance companies, (which is why they usually require additional coverage for such events.) These are not unexplained or freak phenomena. Thus, it makes sense that a meteorite would fit into the same category.

So was this the home of....

[Anonymous Coward]

....a rock star!! :)

Clearly

[aussie_a]

they asked the rock. Don't need extensive research to ask something. But I think the rock may be female, in which case it's been 4 billion years old for the past 3 billion years.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN, CAN'T READ

[Anonymous Coward]

Check their posting histories.

Its just the beginning!

[Anonymous Coward]

That small chuck was part of a much larger rock headed for earth! Excuse me as I must now go down into my bomb shelter (aka my parent's basement) for protection.

You got it wrong...

[twoslice]

Oh, that's right... this is the biggest news in New Zealand since the Lord of the Rings crew packed up and left.

It was dino...

What happen?

[boffy_b]

In AD 2004, war was beginn...oh, never mind.

This could have been prevented!

[91degrees]

All we needed to do was send Bruce Willis up there with a team of roughnecks.

lots of meteorite activity lately?

[torpor]

is it just me, or have there been a lot of reports lately of 'large explosions' and 'bangs in the sky', and 'loud flashes of light in the distance', and pretty much they've all been meteorites?

there was that large bang around seattle a few weeks ago, then the other 'mysterious flashes' over the ocean near new zealand, and now this...

whats with all this junk?

Re:lots of meteorite activity lately?

[wathead]

I was coming back from lunch break a year or two ago and all of the sudden BAM!!. A car in the parking lot has a window explode. Upon investigation a large chunk of brown colored ice about the size of a bowling ball had fallen from the sky and crashed through the windshield of this honda civic. It hit so hard the rear glass was covered in glass shavings.
Come to find out it was airline dung. Some one had flushed the shitter from a jet going over.Seems that the turd turned into a very large chunk of shit induced hail.
Unlike your basic Moterhome the head on a jet just dumps the waste out into open air.
Very smart. I guess there is no rome for waste water on those huge airliners.

Re:lots of meteorite activity lately?

[kidgenius]

It's not the act of flushing that causes those to come out. There is a valve on the plane that allows for a hose to be hooked up to the plane to remove all of that "matter". Well, when one of these 2 valves goes bad, the stuff starts to leak out of the hatch on the plane. As it sits on the outside of the plane, it freezes, then will break free. I heard that one time there was a piece a little smaller than a basketball that broke free, and the engine ingested it. Needless to say, the plane was forced to land b/c the engine was severly damaged.

Also, let me say that you do not want to be the guy hooking up the hose when one of those valves is bad. You end up having to reach your arm up the hatch of the plane, and manually open the valve, and hope to god you can get yourself out of the way, and the hose in place before the "matter" starts flowing. As you can imagine, it is a pretty difficult thing to do.

Re:lots of meteorite activity lately?

[mikael]

Reminds me of an "experiment" a friend of mine once did with a empty 2 litre Pepsi bottle. The goal of the experiment was to demonstrate to his kids how a water would expand on freezing and could crack drain pipes. The bottle was filled with water, allowed to freeze overnight on the sundeck and examined the following day. The experiment was a success, with the water forming a solid 6 inch tall cylinder, 2 inches thick with a holow core, and with the plastic of the bottle split open. However, this led to a problem. How to dispose of the ice? He didn't want to wait for the ice to melt, so figured it would be simple enough to throw it onto the ground outside. So, at a suitable time, when there wasn't anyone or anything in the vicinity, he threw it onto the snow covered ground below. With a slight thump, it left a small crater in the snow and dug a chunk out of the ground. His landlady was quick to notice, and the cover story was that the chunk of ice must have fallen off an aircraft.

Re:lots of meteorite activity lately?

[DieByWire]

Needless to say, the plane was forced to land b/c the engine was severly damaged.

If you're referring to the Northwest 727 in Florida in the latter 1980's, the right engine actually separated from the aircraft after the blue ice went through it.

Brings new meaning to 'losing an engine.'

Time to upgrade my tinfoil hat!

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a plot i tell ya!

Re:Time to upgrade my tinfoil hat!

[PingPongBoy]

If you want to know what happened to the dinosaurs, well, every one of them was hit with a meteor just like this, ... simultaneously.

insurance rates

[marcjw]

I suppose the cost meteorite damage insurance will now go through the roof in NZ.

What happened to the rock?

[KrisCowboy]

What are the laws governing the ownership of such rocks from space? The household owns it? If yes, can they sell it some museum for an astronomical price?

Bet it took a while to figure out what it was

[toby]

--"Honey, are the Israelis shelling us again?"

Re:Bet it took a while to figure out what it was

[Anonymous Coward]

--"Honey, are the Israelis shelling us again?"

No dear, that was just cousin Ahmet blowing himself up along with a school bus full of Israeli school children. Could you turn up the radio?

Re: your sig

[Animaether]

I read your sig and thought "wtf.". Then I did some searching and reading some more. I think you should, too. Rumsfeld did not ban cameras (including camera phones). But he may very well in the future.
One source of reading

Acts of God

[jabber01]

"Acts of God" are probably defined with regard to who is in office at the time.

I know this was in New Zealand, but if it'd happened in the US, a plague would be defined as an act of terror, while stray a titanium rod fired from orbit would be indemnified by the government.

O_O

[Anonymous Coward]

Go buy a lottery ticket. ;)
I want a meteorite...

Re:O_O

[eBayDoug]

yep, that's one lucky bastard!

The US Defense Department has just announced...

[IrishMist]

that it hat reliable information that Osama bin Laden was in the house at the time.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN, repost information

[Anonymous Coward]

I modded this posting up.

I don't care what he has posted before, this post is "informative" and should be modded accordingly.

Would you like me to mod your future posts down, because you are a "MOD PARENT DOWN!" whiner? No? I didn't think so.

ownership

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's think.

It makes sense the owner of the house should have the right to keep the rock. If everything you found is own by the government then, what kind of society is this. Then another question comes to my mind: if the moon drop in front of my yard, who will own it? Ofcourse, some people will say that we all be dead by then, or it never happens, but that's another thing, when you talk about theory, imagine number works as long as you stick to the theory. right?

I smell an opportunity

[Anonymous Coward]

I live in New England. Plenty of rocks around. I live near an airfield. Plenty of planes around. So... 1) Get rocks, 2) Rent plane, 3) Fly over house, 4) Profit! Only house ever hit by THREE meteors at once!

Maybe I'll even invest a few bucks for a few small real meteorites - the margin will cover it.

Re:I smell an opportunity

[Anonymous Coward]

Remember to keep this secret from the wife and kids. You want that smell of realism for the interviews.

War!

[Trailwalker]

In a response to the attack on New Zealand, President Bush announced today that United States Army and Marine units would be stationed on Mars and other planets as a deterrent to further terrorism by unknown aliens. He will send a request for a further $900,000,000,000 to congress to fund the development of transport and supply systems for our brave patriotic troops. Haliburtion corp. has patriotically volunteered to undertake the conract for a mere 25% markup.

Attorney General John Ashcroft declared that the aliens have obvious ties with Al Queda. Only alien mind control could have changed the joyous happy reception that should have been give to US liberators by the oppressed Arab world. He will ask Congress to amend the Patriot act to allow preventive detention of the entire population of the United States and 24 hour observation of everyone else.

Affable non-entity and Homeland Security fill-in Tom Ridge announced newer, more vibrant colors for ever more heightened security levels. He is asking Congress to redefine illegal alien to include beings from other planets/solar systems.

Re:War!

[Anonymous Coward]

Haliburtion corp. has patriotically volunteered to undertake the conract for a mere 25% markup.

Apologies for spoiling the humor with mere facts. But the fee in the infamous Halliburton contract is 1% for their field support contract. There is a possible performance bonus which could have the fee reach 3%. Halliburton has a subsidiary, Kellog Brown, and Root, with a contract with a base fee of 2%, and a potential performance bonus of 5%.

You'll find very few commercial companies willing to work even for a 7% margin, much less 1%.

Re:War!

[wtansill]

Shit! Now you've done it! You do know he'll believe your post and act accordingly?

Troll! Troll! Troll!

[Anonymous Coward]

Troll! I don't see a damn boob anywhere....liar.

Why bake it?

[kanweg]

Experts said to bake it in an oven? I'd think that would help to lose all the interesting gasses and info on their composition. I'd say put it in a moisture-tight plastic bag and in the freezer)

Bert

Experts say...

[Digitus1337]

Experts say that the meteorite could be worth more than $6kUS.

I disagree.

[duffel]

MOD PARENT DOWN, repost information
The parent is a known troll saving up karma for posting gnaa shit in some story to come.

Actually, kunundo (parent), I'm quite offended by your remark.

First off, you attack the person rather than their statement. This is called an Argumentum ad hominum. It's a logical fallacy and carries no weight. Personally, I think James (parent's parent) raises quite a good point. The loss in energy is quite impressive.

*scribbles on back of envelope*
The heat it deposited in the atmosphere is enough to vaporize more than 200 liters of water previously at room temperature. (In a really really rough calculation). For what's essentially a piece of rock, I thought that's quite cool.

So, to me, the comment was interesting. So, whatever the motives, the comment is a good one and should be rewarded as such

Also, moderators have mod points for a reason: They're good active members of the slashdot community. Don't tell them what to do, let them make up their own mind. That's what they're there for.

what to do with it...

[EricKoh]

I'd find a blacksmith and craft an astral shield+4

Re:what to do with it...

[Some Bitch]

Congratulations, that way well be the geekiest thing I have ever seen ;)

Re:what to do with it...

[theMerovingian]

Actually, people have been known to make knives out of meteorites.

Kind of like Conan's sword, but different. Thats cool.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN, repost information

[Anonymous Coward]

stfu troll

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN, repost information

[Anonymous Coward]

SHUT UP you lame lizard with bacteria in mouth. Learn to use toothbrush first

Skeptics

[Veteran]

One of the things which we fail to do is mock skeptics when they are wrong. The idea of rocks falling from the sky was rejected by all scientists at one time - despite the eye witness testimony of those who had seen it happen. The people who had seen it happen were dismissed as liars, as hoaxers, and as hallucinogenic; they were not gifted great thinkers like all skeptics are known to be.

An example of current skeptical thought: the idea of an elephant startling at the sight of a mouse is 'scientifically' ridiculous. I have never seen an elephant startle at a mouse, however I have seen a full grown African elephant startle and flinch back at the sight of a common gray squirrel. This occurred at the Houston Zoo in the early 1980's. That behavior is not unreasonable if it is viewed from the elephant's perspective; elephants have poor eyesight, and the serpentine movement of a running rodent when seen by an elephant could easily be mistaken for the movement of a poisonous snake - which is one creature that might cause an elephant to startle.

I know for a fact that the idea of an elephant flinching at the sight of a small rodent is a reasonable idea since I have personally seen it happen, and that the skeptics are dead wrong in this respect. Since skeptics never apologize when they are wrong I would like take this opportunity to say to all of the skeptics of the world most formally: "You are of my own personal knowledge completely full of shit".

Skepticism is very important in science; it keeps people from being gullible. Skepticism is healthy scientific behavior up to a point, when it goes beyond that point it is wrong and destructive. An example may clarify what that point is: saying "Your experiment show evidence of 'X' but it could also be explained by 'Y' or 'Z'" is an example of proper skepticism. However to mock someone and in general act like a turd is going beyond the point of healthy skepticism and into a destructive unscientific area.

The original Viking lander experiments on Mars all sent back evidence of life existing on Mars. Healthy skepticism would have been to say: "The results are inconclusive because they could have also been caused by certain rare chemical compounds, further testing to rule out those rare compounds is required". Instead we are told there is "no evidence of life", the people who designed the experiments are ridiculed publicly, and the test data is ignored as 'poor science'. As a result of skepticism gone wild no follow up experiments have been performed, and everyone 'knows' that there is no life on Mars.

Flaming rocks DO fall from the sky, Elephants DO startle at small rodents, the Viking experiments DO need to be followed up, and 'skeptical' scientists who use mockery need to be publicly humiliated by being forced to wear Dunces caps with the words "Rocks don't fall from the sky!" stenciled on them.

Re:Skeptics

[back_pages]

And all illness is caused by an imbalance of free radicals in your body, Tarot cards reveal your future, and websites that want to give you some free software just to help you out don't have malicious intentions.

Congratulations, you have discovered that once in awhile, truth is stranger than fiction. Claiming that skepticism is full of shit, however, is moronic.

Re:Skeptics

[Profane MuthaFucka]

You don't seem to know very much about skepticism at all.

Skeptics are convinced by the evidence. Anyone who is unpersuaded by uncompelling evidence is not a skeptic, period.

Therefore your rant about skeptics, flogging, and the supposed ejaculation that you will acheive from such behavior is meaningless.

Re:Skeptics

[Anonymous Coward]

You could have saved a lot of space in your post:

"They laughed at Columbus; they laughed at Galileo."

"They also laughed at Bozo the Clown."

Re:Skeptics

[Anonymous Coward]

Whoops, I meant persuaded by compelling evidence.

Re:Skeptics

[Veteran]

No, it is you who fail to understand. Scientists are convinced by the evidence, skeptics are people who attempt to create a scientific reputation by doubt and ridicule.

I note with interest that you have nothing to say about the example I show of the destructive effects of skepticism. You said nothing because I am correct, and there was nothing you could say.

The attacks of skeptics are largely responsible for the failure of NASA to send follow up experiments to Mars to settle the question of life.

I'll state it again: skeptics need to be ridiculed in public when they are wrong.

Re:Skeptics

[Profane MuthaFucka]

skeptics are people who attempt to create a scientific reputation by doubt and ridicule.

False definition of skeptic, you fail it. If you attack an incorrect definition, then you're just a fucking moron.

Re:Skeptics

[Dirtside]

Flaming rocks DO fall from the sky, Elephants DO startle at small rodents, the Viking experiments DO need to be followed up, and 'skeptical' scientists who use mockery need to be publicly humiliated by being forced to wear Dunces caps with the words "Rocks don't fall from the sky!" stenciled on them.

If you think that by threatening skeptics you can get us to do what you want... Well, that's where you're right. But -- and I am only saying this because I care -- there are a lot of decaffeinated brands on the market that are just as tasty as the real thing.

Re:Skeptics

[Anonymous Coward]

One who instinctively or habitually doubts, questions, or disagrees with assertions or generally accepted conclusions.

Re:Skeptics

[Profane MuthaFucka]

I can tell you what a skeptic is, but if you refuse to understand, there's nothing that can be done for you.

Why don't you go back to your horoscopes and leave us alone?

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN, repost information

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought you couldn't mod posts in articles you posted in yourself. Unless you are truly a logged out AC rather than a check-boxed AC, like me.

Obviously ...

[gstoddart]

if there were an area where meteors were common, there'd be extra clauses for meteor damage

According to the actuaries it'll be New Zealand as of Tuesday. =)

Why all the fuss?

[PingPongBoy]

It's not powerful enough to even nick my thick head.

It's not just you. . .

[Fantastic Lad]

is it just me, or have there been a lot of reports lately of 'large explosions' and 'bangs in the sky', and 'loud flashes of light in the distance', and pretty much they've all been meteorites?

There have been an increasing number of strikes over the past couple of years. Some, like this one, a half dozen instances back, are pretty darned significant. (Though, those ones suffer from a near total media black-out policy, while the smaller ones tend to get the typical, "Funny news, one in a billion, what WILL the insurance companies do, har har har! Go back to sleep, citizen" treatment). Those in power, however, are more or less aware and are preparing in their own ways. One theory suggests that the real reason behind the current world-wide military lock-down is not the 'Terrorism' bugaboo, but rather is to secure the population (and planet resources) for when things get really hairy. Look up Alternative '3' to get an idea. (Rather a cartoony distillation of the concept, but close enough to the real deal to be a relatively good primer on How Things Are.)

There appears to be a definite time-scale thingy going on here. Watch and listen. Almost everything of any significance going on in the world today is directly related to the sky falling tomorrow, so to speak. And most of it is reactionary, religion-based stupidity. We wouldn't have troops in Iraq, and Israel wouldn't be on a genocidal free-for-all if it wasn't for the 'Good' book. Ah, religion! Crack of the Masses.

Favorite news-bite of the week:

Madsen, a Washington-based writer and columnist, who often writes for Counterpunch, says that people close to the pope claim that amid these concerns, the pontiff wishes he was younger and in better health to confront the possibility that Bush may represent the person prophesized in Revelations."

Though, don't fret. The big rocks aren't due to start whacking us for a little while yet. We'll probably get all the Harry Potter books out before. And thank goodness for that! (sic)

-FL

Re:It's not just you. . .

[Anonymous Coward]

How did this get modded interesting?

I mean come on this guy obviously wears a tinfoil hat...

Re:It's not just you. . .

[Anonymous Coward]

No, You've got it wrong, it is all to do with the Illuminati. They are secretly controlling your mind through your web browser. Quick! Run!

Re:It's not just you. . .

[glitch23]

And most of it is reactionary, religion-based stupidity. We wouldn't have troops in Iraq, and Israel wouldn't be on a genocidal free-for-all if it wasn't for the 'Good' book. Ah, religion! Crack of the Masses.

You people need help who think religion is the root of all evil. Geez. Religion brings good thing while trying to get rid of all the bad things people can think up in their odd brains and all you can do is criticize.

Lack of faith, Crack of the Misguided.

Re:It's not just you. . .

[NarrMaster]

Lack of faith, Crack of the Misguided.

Coke-a-Cola of the Sane.

Re:It's not just you. . .

[Anonymous Coward]

The tinfoil hat business is irrelevant because the poster is citing a fact, i.e., that more sightings of spectacular meteors and meteorites are showing up in the news.

Maybe it's just statistical. Or maybe our planet is moving into a region of space that has more rocks flying around in it, in which case we could be in for some "interesting" times.

Either way, I don't see the "tinfoil hat" comments as constructive. I see them as the droppings of the intellectually arrogant weasels that infest Slashdot.

Re:It's not just you. . .

[Fantastic Lad]

You people need help who think religion is the root of all evil. Geez. Religion brings good thing while trying to get rid of all the bad things people can think up in their odd brains and all you can do is criticize.

Er. . . You did understand my reference? We really wouldn't have genocide in Israel and troops in Iraq if it weren't for idiotic religious differences in what amounts to the same text. I have family serving in Afghanistan thanks to the current war on Islam. I have friends who suffer from life-crippling guilt complexes directly built upon the Catholic brain-washing they received as children. I have Jewish friends whose lives are getting steadily more imperiled thanks to the Zionist brain-washing and political activities. So yeah, you'll have to pardon me if I seem a little perplexed by the direct results of popular, centralized religion. The entire world is rearing up to tear itself apart through the massive mind-programming job which has been perpetrated upon Humanity for the last 2000 years.

Don't get me wrong; I have no problem with people being spiritually aware; in fact, I consider it something of an absolute necessity if one wants to fully develop as a soul. I consider Religion a giant trap designed specifically to prevent people from awakening to the various realities upon which spiritual awareness is based.

Indeed, I have NEVER met a Christian who really understands what Christ was actually all about. Dying on the cross for our sins? This is perhaps THE number one false-hood. Very simply, if you read and believe in the Bible, you are a chump. The Bible was written by a large cast of humans, each with varying agendas, during a segment of history when there was both great temptation and reward in mis-directing the population into perpetuating specific thought patterns designed to engender a slave-like mentality.

I'll repeat that in the form of a question:

How can you trust anything written in the bible? How do you know the people who wrote the bible weren't taking money from the thought-police of the day? --And there were definitely such forces at work back then, just as there are now. Very simply, whenever you have powerful governments, you have powerful propaganda departments with very deliberate agendas using the most effective means possible to control the people. Religion is a fantastically effective way to control people.

A self-serving government would have to be insane not to use it to their advantage.

Why the heck doesn't anybody ever consider this basic reality when gauging the value of biblical texts?

There are thousands of scholars who have collectively spent millions of hours trying to demonstrate the truth and validity of the bible through mountains of self-invalidating research which cannot help but be totally biased exactly because it is research done by legions of pre-brainwashed zealots.

(Much like today's newscasts, the Bible is about 80% propaganda and mind-programming bullshit.) And look how effective it has been! --I point out a simple fact; that we have torturing troops in Iraq and genocide going down in Israel BECAUSE of religion, and you tell me to stop being so critical, that 'religion brings the good while trying to get rid of the bad'.

Seems to me that there's a little friction there between the reality of Palestinian children being shot by twenty year-old Jews with machine guns supplied by good ol' church-going Americans, and your Easter Bunny daydream.

Newsflash: People can lead good and responsible lives without being threatened with hellfire. And if they are so stupid as to actually require biblical threats and promises of afterlife reward simply to behave themselves, then perhaps they deserve to be brainwashed and shot, which is exactly what is happening anyway.

Good luck. You're certainly going to need it. --I've also yet to meet the Christian who has even the slightest clue as to what the whole 'Left Behind' thing is actually referencing.

-FL

Yes But

[AmericanInKiev]

She got a free base?

Shrek

[Easy2RememberNick]

The last big story from New Zealand was Shrek the Marino sheep that was on the lam for seven years.

RTFA

[Anonymous Coward]

The article claimed he might get 6000-ish $US. That is not a lot of money.

Acts of God usually ARE covered

[freeweed]

As someone who worked as a broker for over 10 years, I can most assuredly tell you that this sort of thing is covered by most homeowner's insurance policies (at least here in Canada). In fact, most so-called "Acts of God" are also covered.

Any sudden, unavoidable weather event is generally covered, with some exceptions: flood damage in flood-prone areas, tornado damage in the plains, earthquakes on the west coast, things like that. Reason? Because when these things happen, they tend to be considered Natural Disasters, and the damage gets into the BILLIONS. Insurance companies and their re-insurers simply aren't up the task.

But a freak hailstorm, ice storm, tree falling on your house, meteor.. yup, pretty much all covered.

It's a sign of the future....

[DarkMantle]

If I recall correctly, didn't Johnathan Archer in Star Trek Enterprise have a meteorite that his father gave him when he was a kid?? Maybe this is his Great Great Grandmother or something.

It's a sign that Star Trek was written by time travelers from the future to tell us what it'll be like. I better get my tinfoil hat so they don't read my mind.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN, repost information

[Anonymous Coward]

You can't. That's why I'm posting this from another computer.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN, repost information

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't care, huh?

But you do care that the parent poster was a "known troll" and you wanted him modded down for that?

Let the moderators do their job, I know I'm doing mine.

MOD PARENT -1, MONARCHY

[Anonymous Coward]

10

Yahooooooooo-ooooo!

[HisMother]

If they had checked the newspapers, they would have had time to shop on Yahoo for a boatload of throw pillows and their trailer would have been saved!

Ping!

[Anonymous Coward]

The rock hit her leather couch and bounced back up to the ceiling before rolling under the computer.

This demonstrates that the Martians have Internet. They have sent a ping :)

Re:Ping!

[Anonymous Coward]

Where's the ICMP Redirect technology when you need it?

(I didn't even know Bruce Willis could code.)

Tin foil hats? Ha, just wait!

[Teun]

The article says Base Ball size, just wait for that extra-terestrial to come off the field and starts looking for his ball!

Fortunately we're safe in the USA

[hugesmile]

As long as meteorites are measured in kg's (weight), and meters per second (speed), we should be safe here in the USA.

Our heavy traveling stuff weighs pounds or tons, and only travels in miles per hour.

Re:Fortunately we're safe in the USA

[1hurcoman]

I think you got that wrong. Volume is measured in Volkswagons. Distance is measured in football fields. Weights are measured in bowling balls. Speed can be measured in NASCAR or something.

Re:Fortunately we're safe in the USA

[Anonymous Coward]

um, the ton is a metric unit too...

i'm not spoiling the joke, am i? :-/

Re:Fortunately we're safe in the USA

[hugesmile]

Very true, and bandwidth is measured in "how many complete copies of the Library of Congress can be transmitted per second".

Re:Fortunately we're safe in the USA

[Nermal6693]

That's the tonne, 1000 kg. An ton, on the other hand, is about 907 kg, which is not metric.

Re:Fortunately we're safe in the USA

[Anonymous Coward]

And information in Libraries of Congress!

Re:Fortunately we're safe in the USA

[(trb001)]

Actually, you too are wrong. Volume is typically measured in Libraries of Congress.

--trb

Isn't it obvious?

[l0tu53at3r]

As the Cerulian Babe Ruth hits a moonshot out of the galaxy!

Its customary in intergalactic baseball to throw the homerun balls hit by the other team back onto the playfield. So, why haven't we yet?

Re:Reminds me of the lottery syndicate...

[Anonymous Coward]

...who had a win with their regular numbers.

The next week, their ticket buyer caused an argument amongst the members when he bought the same numbers again, because some thought that the chances of those numbers coming up again was too remote because they had already come up.

I would have continued with the same numbers, because they had proved their ability to deliver prizes...

This could be a win-win

[hey!]

The homeowner collectst the insurance and then sells the meteorite on eBay for $$$, compensating for the aggravation (which insurance doesn't pay for).

The insurance company runs an ad featuring a testimoinial the customer showing that no matter how unusual the claim, they can be counted on to do the right thing by their cusotmers.

Probably the insurance payout is not very much relative to the cost of a decent ad.

Re:This could be a win-win

[greenrd]

The insurance company runs an ad featuring a testimoinial the customer showing that no matter how unusual the claim, they can be counted on to do the right thing by their cusotmers.

I don't think that would work. I think all insurance companies exclude some rare and unlikely events, such as damage due to war or civil disturbance for example.

However, I suppose they could say words to the effect of "As long as it's not on our simple list of exceptions: [list] and it's equal or less than the covered amount ... we'll cover you, no matter what." But that would be less impressive. :)

How about hitting a person?

[davidesh]

"Stars Fell on Alabama" Mrs. Ann Hodges, an Oak Grove housewife, was struck by a meteorite in her own home on November 30, 1954. A replica of the meteorite is on display, along with written documentation about the incident, also recorded in the Guiness Book of Records as the only documented instance of a meteorite falling and hitting a living person. happened in sylacauga alabama, where i once lived.

Its not an airplane engine

[Lt.Hawkins]

but I definately had fleeting thoughts of Donnie Darko.

Your Forgot They'll Make Money off the Rock too.

[Bruha]

They could probably get anywhere from 6-10k dollars from selling the meteorite on top of getting a new roof, couch and a few other things past the fact that someone could of gotten killed they really made out well on this disaster.

take this with a grain of salt tin-foil-heads

[sevinkey]

but I fortunately live far enough toward the edge of Phoenix to have a beautiful view of the sky, and we've been seeing meteors about once every 3-5 minutes for the past month. Every other day or two (we watch for about 30 minutes a night) I see a large fireball.

I don't think the world's ending (nor would I found it constructive to worry about it if it was) but this guy things its the end:

http://www.bushcountry.org/news/may_news_pages/g _0 51604_assiebloke_end_world.htm

Another "scientific myth" debunked

[pongo000]

According to the Stuff article, the meteor was "hot to touch" after it landed. Guess that bunk about a meteor being cold when it hits the earth was just a lot of hot air from pseudo-scientists.

Re:Another "scientific myth" debunked

[MerlTurkin]

The guy is mistaken. They are no where's near hot to the touch upon landing. They cool off high up, long before hitting the ground. His mind is definately playing tricks on him. He *remembers* it being "hot" but the fact is it wasn't anywheres near hot. "Merl"

Re:Another "scientific myth" debunked

[Ralconte]

I know, even here on /. in a previous story , everyone said that meterorites don't land hot. It made me doubt this story, even with the Observatory and the University backing it. Meanwhile, in the same general area, the Murchison meteorite remains contentious. I just don't know anymore. I figured these topics would be at the top of a slashdot discussion.

Re:Another "scientific myth" debunked

[JabberWokky]

That, plus the appearance of the object makes me doubt that it was a meteor. Plus the story that quotes them as saying that they were advised to "put it in the oven to dry it off". Hunh?

--
Evan

It's times like theses....

[Jsutton1027w]

...that makes someone glad he went to bed early, instead of staying up and watching Leno. ;)

Re:It's times like theses....

[tfbastard]

Getting hit over the head with a meteorite or getting hit over the head with yet another "stupid Bush/horny Clinton" joke, I don't really know which is worse.

Um, no

[clone22]

The probability of it being hit twice is not the same as the probability of being hit again. The probability of flipping a coin and it coming up heads is always .5, regardless of the number of times it has been flipped. However, the odds of my flipping the coin twice and it coming up heads both times is .5 * .5 = .25. Likewise, if the probability of the house being hit once is p, the probability of it being hit again is also p, and the probability of the house being hit twice is p*p.

Re:Um, no

[NarrMaster]

Yes, but given that the house has been hit once, the probability reverts back to the same as before. The probability that a coin lands heads twice, given that it has landed heads once, is .5.

Re:Um, no

[Anonymous Coward]

The probability of it being hit twice is not the same as the probability of being hit again. The probability of flipping a coin and it coming up heads is always .5, regardless of the number of times it has been flipped. However, the odds of my flipping the coin twice and it coming up heads both times is .5 * .5 = .25. Likewise, if the probability of the house being hit once is p, the probability of it being hit again is also p, and the probability of the house being hit twice is p*p.

You have just described, and are a victim of, the gamblers fallacy. The gist of it is: Random past events do not influence the probabiliity of future random events of the same kind.

Re:Um, no

[blue trane]

And here we see the weird contradiction within statistics. Apparently flipping a coin twice in a row is to be taken as a single, atomic event; but if you stop and think about it before flipping the coin the second time, the probabilities that apply to flipping it twice no longer apply...

Re:Um, no

[phliar]

You're implying that, everything else being equal, the probabilities change if you pause between the coin flips?

You might be thinking about the conditional probabilities -- the probability of X givem Y has already happened. Or you might be thinking of Type I and Type II errors of predictors.

ObNitPick

[The Monster]

I hate it when the media gets scientific terminology wrong. It would be incorrect to say the house was hit by a 'meteorite' (definitions taken from dictionary.com): meteorite n : stony or metallic object that is the remains of a meteoroid that has reached the earth's surface unless it's been shown that it bounced off the surface of the earth prior to punching holes in the house. I believe it would me more accurate to say that it was hit by a 'meteor': meteor n : a meteoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere [syn: shooting star] Then, after the meteor punched the holes in the roof and couch, and came to rest, it could be accurately described as a meteorite.

Re:ObNitPick

[blue trane]

Well to me, a house is on the earth's surface. Its roof is an insignificant elevation above the surface, when compared with the height of the earth's atmosphere. So a meteor that hits a house's roof is a meteorite, in my usage.

Re:ObNitPick

[Anonymous Coward]

Far be it from me to decry ordinary standardized pedantry. But in this particular case, you've gone too far.

Unless you're claiming that the "meteor" would somehow have completely vaporized after hitting the roof but before reaching the floor, I'd say that hitting the roof is close enough to "reaching the earth's surface".

What if it stayed inside the house, on top of a rug? And got picked up and carted off to the local science museum, where it is displayed in a glass case? Gee whillikers, that rock has never reached the "earth's surface", has it? It must not be a meteorite, then.

The distinction is clearly those rocks that vaporize in or exit the atmosphere versus those that do not.

Re:ObNitPick

[astro-g]

OK then, it was a meteorite the second time it holed the celing then. (after it bounced)

Re:ObNitPick

[Long-EZ]

Meteoroid - in space or the atmosphere
Meteor - the ionized gas we see as it streaks through the atmosphere
Meteorite - once it reaches the earth's surface

We can't see a meteoroid, we see the meteor, aka "shooting star".

It doesn't need to strike dirt to be a meteorite. It became a meteorite the instant it hit the roof.

I hate it when the media gets scientific terminology wrong, but I hate it even more when the media gets it right and geeks get it wrong.

Re:ObNitPick

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope, you're wrong. A meteorite has hit the earth. A meteor does not make impact.

Re:ObNitPick

[JabberWokky]

I believe he's saying that the meteor hit the roof, and upon hitting the roof (and thus the surface of the earth) became a meteorite. I agree. If a kid then picked it up (big kid), and threw it, it would be a meteorite. But the first impact from space will always be a meteor hit, as it it not a meteorite until it hits.

--
Evan "Pedantics are us"

Re:ObNitPick

[jpkeating]

Meteors are moving. Meteorites aren't. Do you think the people who originated the term distinguished between the flaming stone half a foot above a roof and half a foot below, when it has just punched through? No. They distinguished between things streaking through the air -- meteors -- and certain rare odd stones, which came to be called meteorites once the connection was realized.

Meteors have been known throughout history. The origin of the stones was a mystery -- they were called thunder stones and such. Connecting the two came late and was controversial. The first proof was given at the end of the 1700s, but even a century later few scientists believed the stones came from the heavens or had been meteors. The terms meteorite and meteoroid date from the 1830s and 1860s.

Meteorites don't hit things. Meteors do. Confusion of the terms is common and loose usage is acceptable, especially since they're not everyday words. Not acceptable is criticizing someone who troubles to use them correctly. The thing can hit any number of roofs and clang around all it wants, but until it comes to rest, it's still a meteor.

Or think of it another way. A raindrop can glance off any number of leaves on its way down, but not until it hits the ground does it become a puddle.

Re:ObNitPick

[Long-EZ]

Meteorites don't hit things. Meteors do.

In astronomy class, I was taught that the term "meteor" refers to the visual display. A meteor is the light emanating from a meteoroid traveling through the atmosphere. It wouldn't be proper to say that a meteor hits anything, except perhaps your retina.

Then I found this definition:

meteor (noun)
1: a streak of light in the sky at night that results when a meteoroid hits the earth's atmosphere and air friction causes the meteoroid to melt or vaporize or explode [syn: shooting star]
2: Any of the small solid extraterrestrial bodies that hits the earth's atmosphere [syn: meteoroid]

So I'm using definition #1, and you're using definition #2. Note that when multiple definitions are listed, they are listed in order of preference. Deprecated or less commonly used terms are farther down the list. But different sources usually don't agree. This is often the case when regional differences in usage occur. Webster's American dictionary probably favors "aluminum" while the Oxford dictionary probably prefers "aluminium".

I think the definition I provided above proves that the terminology is based on antiquated and colloquial usage, as you suggest, and it isn't as well defined as either of us had stated. I don't think it's well enough defined to criticize the media this time. It's discouraging how often they mess up tech stories. I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising. None of my tech friends were communications majors in college. That area of study was more often the last refuge of athletes and those seeking a higher education because mommy and daddy thought it would be a good thing to do. But given the usage of the terminology, I think they got it right this time.

Meteorites don't hit things. Meteors do.

I still think that's not correct. Once it hits something on the planet's surface, it stops being a meteoroid (or meteor, if you must), and becomes a meteorite.

Re:ObNitPick

[jpkeating]

I basically agree with you; the meteor became a meteorite when it hit the roof, if it stopped there. If it kept going, it was still a meteor. I disagree with the previous poster, blue trane, who said meteorite hit the roof, and I'm afraid I was careless when clicking and should have responded to that post. The mistake is common and understandable, but it bugged me to see someone criticize someone else (The Monster) who was right to complain the media had gotten it wrong, as usual.

The definition you cite proves mainly that people can't see the sand-size specks that produce most meteors when those specks are traveling at 20 miles per second a hundred miles away. We think of the meteor as the light because that's all we can see. We tend to think of meteorites as the rock because that's what we see of the few that survive the trip. But properly, it's a meteoroid as it heads through the void toward us, a meteor as it plunges through the atmosphere, and a meteorite after it comes to rest.

My Oxford dictionary defines a meteorite as a meteor that has fallen to earth; also, loosely, a meteor or meteoroid. Sky & Telescope magazine agrees. Meteors are falling stars, emphasis on the falling.

Historically, people knew of meteors and knew of meteorites, and the stones were named after the phenomenon once the two were finally connected. So meteors are both the light and the rocks that we eventually realized produced the light upon being vaporized in the atmosphere.

But language is malleable. Now the words distinguish between falling and fallen, not between the light and its source, which are both meteors. If enough people come to see meteors as the streaks of light and meteorites as the stones that produce them, whether falling or not, then that will become right, and will be a useful distinction to make in modern times when everyone knows what makes a falling star.

Your mention of aluminum versus aluminium is interesting, by the way. The English chemist who discovered the stuff, Humphry Davy, called it aluminum, but his compatriots later thought metals should end in -ium and altered it (though they have yet to start saying platinium). So in this case American usage is more English and true to tradition than the English usage is.

Re:ObNitPick

[Long-EZ]

Meteors are falling stars...

More misleading and confusing terminology. A meteor has nothing to do with stars. Just because we were once ignorant, does not mean we should retain ths incorrect terminology. THAT'S why language is malleable. To correct the incorrect assumptions. Please stop calling them falling stars. It only confuses people who aren't very good at science. Clarity of thought is greatly aided by clarity of speech.

Historically, people knew of meteors and knew of meteorites, and the stones were named after the phenomenon once the two were finally connected. So meteors are both the light and the rocks that we eventually realized produced the light upon being vaporized in the atmosphere.

That's just plain retarded. Again, just because we were once confused about the technical issues does not mean that we should remain so. I think that's why the prefered definitions are now:

Meteoroid - Object in space or falling
Meteor - Visual display when entering the atmosphere
Meteorite - Object after terrestrial impact

Those are useful terms for different things. Saying a meteor is both the visible effect and the falling object is vague and confusing. We need different terms to adequately describe different things. Otherwise, why not just call everything "marklar"?

"The marklar looked in wonder at the marklar produced by the marklar as it hurtled through the marklar, and were amazed when the marklar struck a marklar, crushing a marklar that was sitting on top of the marklar."

Re:ObNitPick

[jpkeating]

Of course "falling stars" is not technically accurate. I used the term to illustrate a point. I don't think anyone over the age of six is in danger of being misled into thinking they are actual stars falling from the sky, and I doubt any of them read Slashdot anyway. If you want the term and its cousins excised from the language, go complain to NASA ("A meteor, sometimes called a 'shooting star'": http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/solarsy stem/meteors/meteors.html ). If they can, I can.

My point is the definitions of the terms come from their history. People saw streaks of light, and called them meteors. They found strange pitted rocks, and called them all sorts of things. Eventually they figured out the two were connected, and scientists called the stones meteorites. That's why your definitions are wrong, even if they are useful in their own way. Meteors flash through the air. Meteorites sit on the ground.

The International Astronomical Union, the world governing body for astronomy, sets the following definitions (http://www.amsmeteors.org/define.html#meteor):

A. meteor:
in particular, the light phenomenon which results from the entry into the Earth's atmosphere of a solid particle from space; more generally, as a noun or an adjective, any physical object or phenomenon associated with such an event.
B. meteoroid:
a solid object moving in interplanetary space, of a size considerably smaller than an asteroid and considerably larger than an atom or molecule.
C. meteorite:
any object defined under B which has reached the surface of the Earth without being completely vaporized.

Re:ObNitPick

[Long-EZ]

I don't think anyone over the age of six is in danger of being misled into thinking they are actual stars falling from the sky.

Not sure what country you're from, but sadly, in the USA, less than half of the adults realize the earth revolves around the sun once a year. Keep using antiquated and misleading speech and that sad situation will continue.

The IAU definitions you were kind enough to provide are consistent with the definitions I use. Like the definitions I later found and provided, the IAU definitions also include the deprecated and antiquated definition of a meteor as the object, but only after the preferred definition of it as "the light phenomenon". Note the use of "particularly", and "more generally". It's clear the IAU is trying to provide definitions that are consistent with modern scientific knowledge, while still offering the historical but inaccurate definitions needed to understand writings from a less enlightened age. We can forgive the dead guys for using the inaccurate terminology of their day, but we should use the technically correct definitions for modern writing.

10,000 NZD

[cribcage]

According to the CNN article, the meteorite could be worth more than 10,000 NZD -- or 6,290 USD.

This figure is attributed to "experts," and CNN seems to be quoting a figure taken from the Sunday Star-Times newspaper. I'm not sure how credible that figure is, but it's one answer.

crib

increasing in frequency?

[Anonymous Coward]

Imagine if 10,000 meteorities like that struck Earth in a single day. All hell would break loose.

Has anyone noticed that nearly every day now there are meteorites in the news?

I know there are always many that hit the Earth, but the increasing number of reports in the media seem foreboding. Are we about to get pounded?

Maybe the Earth has entered a region of space that has more "junk" in it, and we are going through some bad stuff for a few years. If so, get ready to duck.

It doesn't have to a big one. Lots of little one would be just as bad.

Microsoft should take the blame equally

[abionnnn]

Nah It was uncle Sharon, eating a few palestinian children.

act of god?

[deft]

im suprised that term hasnt been attacked yet.

if an insurance company told me something wasnt covered because it was an act of GOD, id kindly request they prove this "GOD" existed from which this meteor was cast down...

heck, i might even sue for slander, for them implying that GOD wanted to kill me.

Re:act of god?

[Stegersaurus2686]

"Act of God" is just the term they use to describe the unexplainable. It was used a long time ago and continues to be a legal term today. Get over yourself.

Re:act of god?

[Anonymous Coward]

funny thing, as i was reading this i was thinking the exact same thing - they might as well say an act of baltazar, or whatever the name of the sorceror in the rings saga is, on the other hand, i was thinking, if one insurance company does it, then all may be doing it, so i would not be able to insure my house - which i have to - and since i don't have enough $ to fight a class action suit, i would have to give in

Re:act of god?

[deft]

grandfathering for the sake of grandfathering is the worst argument.

if some chick can get mad at me for calling the hours my team worked "man hours", instead of her preferred "person hours", then I can muse about whether or not "act of god" is dated as well.

of course, your still calling people negroes, right? granfathering that one in are ya? get over yourself as well.

Insurance?

[jridley]

Who needs insurance?
Anything that's hit by a meteorite gets very valuable. A friend bought a meteorite from the homeowner that found it in her yard. They found that it had bounced off the roof, causing some damage. He paid for the roof repair, and got the damaged section of the roof; having it with the meteorite probably adds $10,000 to the value of the meteorite.
Similarly, a $1000 beater car that got hit by a meteorite in NY sold for something like $30,000. Another piece of the Chicago meteorite went through someone's roof and smashed their printer (they were AT THE WORKSTATION at the time). The meteorite and smashed printer sold for several tens of thousands.

As long as nobody gets hurt, a meteorite hit is a bonanza.

I'm pretty impressed...

[Greyfox]

Here they'd just call it an "Act of God" and make you pay for it. Not their fault God decided to smote your roof and couch. Obviously something sinful was going on there.

Not a single one?

[Tablizer]

A meteor strike story and not a single Goatse joke? The odds against that must be astronomical.

This was on Fark

[Anonymous Coward]

This was on Fark.com Thanks for the same news yet again.

Cool Seattle footage

[simetra]

The Seattle Times had an article online about the recent meteor which exploded 26 miles up, about 20 miles north of Seattle. The story has links to very impressive security-cam footage of the flash, caught on camera at Harborview Hospital, downtown Seattle. I submitted this as a Slashdot story, but it was rejected. Why? Who knows, maybe they don't like me. I don't have the URL for that article, but if you'd like to see the Real format videos of the flash caught on the Harborview security cams, go to www.seattletimes.com and do a search. I believe there's a free registration required for their older stories. It impressive considering how far Harborview is from where the meteor blew up (just north of Snohomish, which is just north of Seattle).

Earth Rover

[DonalGraeme]

Somewhere else in the universe an alien species is trying to figure out what happened to their Earth Rover.

Strange blue meteorite

[Anonymous Coward]

Reminds me of the story of when a strange blue meteorite crashed through the roof of a house and landed in the middle of the living room. It's origin aroused much mystery until it began to melt, and then smell.

More pictures

[akeyes]

can be found here http://www.local6.com/slideshow/news/3413231/detai l.html?qs=1&s=1&dm=ss&p=news including some of the hole caused by the meteorite

Rename the child to...

[davidsyes]

Archerite. I wonder if they can run to their court and rename the 1-year old...

You know, that's got to be an "astronomical hole in one". It even bounced after falling into the cup.

Fortunately, the young archer was phase-shifted or time-displaced from the area of impact.

Ebay

[Anonymous Coward]

Can we expect to see this rock on Ebay anytime soon?

Damn

[Second_Derivative]

And I once commented to myself that my odds of going out with a certain girl were "about as great as the chance of me being hit by a meteorite whilst indoors"

I think I'll need to add "in the next five seconds" next time I use that.

Re:How about hitting a person? Or a dog?

[IrishMist]

Online reference for that: Meteorite. Also says "The only reported fatality from meteorite impacts is an Egyptian dog who was killed in 1911, although this report is disputed. "

Turtles

[ccmay]

You can't fool me, it's turtles all the way down!

-ccm

Same fallacy in the Stuff.co.nz article

[Anonymous Coward]

The folks who live in the house have headed off to buy a Lotto ticket, which is very sensible.

Step 3

[Anonymous Coward]

Profit!

space 1 nz home 0

[Anonymous Coward]

Is this a signal for NZ stop hosting lord of the rings productions? who knows....

Shortly After....

[Anonymous Coward]

Dr Ed kidnapped Sandy.Then Dave and his friends broke in to rescue her. Bennard called the meteor police and everyone lived happily ever after. Except the Weird Ed's hamster which Razor and Sid decided to microwave.

What the hell are you talking about?

[NarrMaster]

If you ask the probability of it landing heads twice in a row, before the first flip, then the probability is .5*.5=.25. Now, if you ask the probability of it landing heads twice in a row, given that the first flip has landed heads, the probability is .5. Why? The probability that the first flip is heads is no longer .5; it is 1.0. Nothing to do with thinking about the flips, nothing to do with atomic events, nothing. The probability of an event that has already happened is 1.

Re:What the hell are you talking about?

[blue trane]

Okay. Thinking about this some more, it is beginning to make sense. Before flipping any coins, the probability of getting two heads in a row is .25. One way to think of it is as a diagram of the four possible results of flipping two coins. After the first flip (say it turns out heads), two of those possibilities are eliminated. The two remaining possibilities are that the second flip will turn up heads or tails, a .5 probability.

There is a surface counter-intuitiveness, but I see now how it is wrong. Thanks for helping me out on this, I've used statistics professionally for years, and this has never really been clear to me, but is now...yay.

Note the guy claimed buying Lotto was "sensible"?

[Anonymous Coward]

What a scientist! Quite apart from the fact that he's actually an engineer, and an AMATEUR astronomer.

4 billion years old

[glitch23]

I'd like to know how they can say for certain how old it is. Carbon dating can supposedly tell how old it is but who says they are interpreting the results properly? Since we weren't there 4 billion years ago we can only guesstimate, but as always, whatever a scientist says is gospel. Oops, wrong word for the /. crowd. Oh well.

Re:4 billion years old

[MerlTurkin]

http://www.neiu.edu/~chemdept/nasa/agepage.htm

Re:4 billion years old

[thegsusfreek]

Um... ok. So we just know that radioactive isotopes decay at the exact same rate under all circumstances and conditions and at all points in the universe. Sorry, you cannot prove that.

Re:4 billion years old

[Copid]

I recommend taking a peek at this page to get an idea of how the relevant dating systems work. The first section has some interesting data on asteroids. It isn't carbon dating (which is only good for a few thousand years), but the system is similar. Many people cry "assumption" when the system is first described, but they don't seem to understand that those assumptions are actually validated as part of the test. Note the first figure on the page.

Before using loaded words like "guesstimate" and making sarcastic references to something being "gospel" don't you think it would be good to actually examine the logic involved? Your reference to carbon dating clearly points out that you haven't done that, so it's hardly fair for you to make such flippant remarks. Having a healthy dose of skepticism will often earn you respect in scientific circles, but a lot of people seem to think that abrupt dismissal of anything they don't understand under the guise of being a "free thinker" works just as well. The "I'm smarter than you because you blindly accept what scientists say while *I* choose to dismiss them without consideration" attitude doesn't make you look smart--it makes you look like a jerk.

4 billion years old? Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

"..four billion-year-old rock that fell through the roof of a house..."

Who came up with this figure? Spouted as if fact, when we can only have "educated" estimates based on our limited understanding of the universe.

Or...did someone ask the meteor how old it is?

Meteorite Hit My Neighbors House!

[Anonymous Coward]

Back in 1994 A meteorite went through my neighbors roof 1/2 a mile down the road from me. Unfortunately I slept through the whole thing. My dad was awake and saw the sky light up and heard the sonic boom from it (as did many people around the area). Here is a url with some info on that meteorite. http://www.meteorite.com/gallery/coleman.htm

It's SNOWBALL

[vt0asta]

You are not secure! Go green. Go green!

Spooky

[Anonymous Coward]

Offtopic but: both above posts were added within seconds and numbers are within 3 digits.

you guys should meet for coffee or something.

disaster insurance

[ahkitj]

If only... last time I checked, ANZUS was dead. :( I think I'd have more chance claiming on my government natural disaster insurance policy than seeing the US protect us again. :)

Sheep

[pingurslapp]

Please note there were no sheep harmed in the making of this thread

Re:Sheep

[builderbob_nz]

Damn, with the temperature that rock would have been at it would have made a good mutton-burger. Minced, squashed and cooked in one strike.

Re:Sheep

[pingurslapp]

It would have sliced it well enough for great lamb chops as well

Re:Sheep

[Anonymous Coward]

unfortunately the meteorite hit the living room while the sheep was in the bedroom.

How. . ?

[Fantastic Lad]

How did this get modded interesting?

I mean come on this guy obviously wears a tinfoil hat...

What? You are not interested by a news item about 60 square kilometers scorched bare by a meteor strike? Why the heck not? You're not one of those prozac people, are you?

BTW, that tin-foil joke just gets fresher and more funny every time it is repeated! Thank you for being 100% un-original in your knee-jerking inability to construct your own thoughts. You wouldn't also happen to be one of those people who repeats Simpsons quotes in lieu of social wit, are you?

The irony is that 'people' of your sort think you are actually capable of performing acts of ridicule, when by simply opening your mouths, you become objects of the same.

-FL

Re: your sig

[eyeye]

ok i'll remove it, thanks for the info.

Re:MOD PARENT DOWN, repost information

[Anonymous Coward]

nope. He's not gnaa.

I am looking for Azrael from nukenet!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

I am looking for azrael from nukenet please let me know if you find him, email me at sharpbladepen@yahoo.com